BASF has begun production of chemicals for water treatment and paper manufacturing at the Nanjing Chemical Industry Park in Nanjing, China. These wholly-owned, world-scale production plants for quaternized cationic monomers (DMA3Q) and cationic polyacrylamide (cPAM)further strengthen BASF’s leading position in supporting the water treatment and paper industries in Asia.

The facility has an annual capacity of 40,000 tons of DMA3Q and 20,000 tons of cPAM, and is strongly backward integrated. Key precursors are supplied by the adjoining facilities at BASF-YPC Co., a 50-50 joint venture between BASF and SINOPEC which is one of six BASF Verbund sites worldwide.

“The completion of these facilities is an important milestone, allowing BASF to establish a globally cost-competitive supply for the water treatment industry,” said Dr. Matthias Halusa, Head of BASF’s Global Business Management Water Solutions. “ Production right at the heart of the water treatment industry in Asiafurther strengthens BASF’s position in this region as a supplier of innovative solutions.”

The demand for sustainable solutions to improve water and waste water management in Asia, specifically in China, is rising in order to provide long-term water security. Access to clean water is among the major local challenges. BASF contributes with innovative solutions to close the water supply gap as a leading provider of chemical solutions for water recycling, reuse, water savings and drinking water treatment.

“As the first global player for powder polymers and monomers in this rapidly growing region, we can respond to the growing demands of our customers. Becoming a local producer demonstrates BASF’s commitment to support these important industries in Asia ,” emphasized Magali Simon, Regional Head of BASF Business Water Solutions Asia Pacific.

Cationic polyacrylamides are used as organic flocculants and coagulants as well as retention and drainage aids in the paper industry. With Zetag^® and Magnafloc^® BASF provides a comprehensive range of water treatment chemicals especially designed for the solid/liquid separation process in the industrial and municipal waste water treatment sectors. BASF offers innovative solutions on increasing productivity and reducing total cost of operations in paper industry with Percol^® and Organopol^®.

“ This plant will underpin BASF’s position as one of the leading players in providing retention and drainage solutions as well as water management to our paper customers. At the same time, we will be setting new sustainability standards in the way we use water and energy, ” said Heng Lin, Senior Vice President, Paper Chemicals Asia Pacific.

The plants at Nanjing are built according to BASF’s high global standards of safety and environmental protection. Particular importance is put on training the employees and the safety experts to ensure the same high safety standards as in all other production facilities.